Red Foley

Red Foley

(Vocals, Guitar)

• Given Name: Clyde Julian Foley
• Date of Birth: June 17, 1910
  
• Place of Birth: Blue Lick (near Berea), Kentucky
• Date of Death: September 19, 1968
  
• Place of Death: Fort Wayne, Indiana

Son of a fiddler, Red learned guitar as a child and was given parental encouragement to sing. After high school, he attended Georgetown College in Kentucky, where he was discovered by a scout for the noted WLS National Barn Dance in Chicago. In 1930, he joined John Lair’s “Cumberland Ridge Runners” and returned to Kentucky in 1937 to help Lair establish the Renfro Valley Barn Dance. Returning to Chicago in 1941, he co-starred with Red Skelton in the network country radio show ‘Avalon Time’ and signed with Decca Records. The first Decca release, “Old Shep”, a song he wrote in 1933 about a German Shepherd named Hoover that he owned as a child that was poisoned by a neighbor, became a country classic.

Red charted for the first time in 1944 with his patriotic war-time song “Smoke On The Water” remained on the Country music charts at #1 for 13 weeks, and reached #7 on the Pop charts.

On January 17, 1945, Red made what are considered to be the first modern Country music records in Nashville.

Red left Chicago to join the Grand Ole Opry in April 1946, replacing Roy Acuff as star of the prestigious “prince Albert Show”. Red brought his young guitar player, Chet Atkins, with him. Over the next 8 years, Red established himself as one of the most popular and versatile entertainers in Nashville, as a vocalist, master of ceremonies, and straight man for Opry comedians Minnie Pearl and Rod Brasfield. In 1954, he went to KWTO in Springfield, Missouri to host the “Ozark Jubilee”, which in 1956, became a successful network television program.
Between 1948-1959, Red charted 41 solo Country entries of which 38 were Top 10 hits. Sis others were Country #1 hits, including “Chatanoogie Shoe Shine Boy” in 1950, which also topped the pop charts. Red partnered with Evelyn Knight, his daughter Betty Foley, Ernest Tubb, and Kitty Wells to produce more hits. “One By One” with Kitty Wells Country-charted for 41 weeks.

Red recorded several million-selling Gospel numbers including “Steal Away” (1950) and “Peace In The Valley” (1950).

He also recorded with Pop-divas, the Andrews Sisters, and tried his hand at Rock & Roll with “Crazy Little Guitar Man” in the late 1950’s.In the early 1960’s, Red began to act on network television shows co-starring with Fess Parker on the ABC-TV series “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington”. Red’s daughter Shirley married singer Pat Boone. Their off-spring is singer Debby Boone.Red Foley was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1967.Red was touring with Hank Williams, Jr. – the son of Red’s good friend Hank, Sr. – when on September 19, 1968, Red suffered a heart attack and died in his sleep in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. This prompted Hank, Jr. -- the last person to see or speak with Red – to write and record (as “Luke The Drifter, Jr.”) “I Was With Red Foley (The Night He Passed Away)”, which charted in November, 1968. According to the song, Red’s last words were: “I’m awful tired now, Hank, I’ve got to go to bed”. Red had closed the show that night with “Peace In The Valley”.